Electric Giants

In a bid to help the Austrian public feel more positive about power pylons, the country’s national grid teamed up with GP designpartners and BauCon to create these ‘Power Giants’.

These enormous structures look more like public art than infrastructure, but that is exactly the point. The concept matches each Austrian state with an animal connected to its landscape and identity, such as the stag representing the wooded hills of the Alps, and the stork for Burgenland, where the striking bird is a familiar sight.

They have certainly caught the attention of the design world. Austria’s Power Giants won a Red Dot Award for concept design.

Austria needs to expand its grid network as reliance on electricity grows. It remains to be seen whether these giant animals will harmonise with nature, as intended, or compete for attention with the stunning landscape around them.

They will definitely make a game of I Spy on a long car journey more interesting!

Originally found via Designboom.